2022
What are respite providers and why should I consider being one?
As Hope’s Promise begins to certify foster families, we also have a great need for families willing to be certified as respite providers. We desire for Hope’s Promise to stand out as having outstanding support of our families and a record-breaking retention rate! It’s been said that about two-thirds of foster parents quit fostering within one to two years because of the hardships they face. We want to see that number be much less at Hope’s Promise! To do so, we know we need to go above and beyond in the support we have for families, and respite care is one of the most important!
Much like grandparents and family members often provide help and time away for parents to have time to breathe, respite providers offer foster parents and youth in foster care a break from their daily lives and a chance to get away and recharge. Sometimes it is a needed break to reset and care for their mental health, and sometimes it is for an already planned trip or vacation which the foster child cannot also take part in for a multitude of reasons. Many foster parents state is the number one thing that helps them maintain longevity in their calling as foster parents – it is that important!
Respite providers receive the same training and certification as foster parents and are often in high demand as there are many more foster parents than there are respite providers! Many respite families also get the opportunity to provide other supports for that youth and family as they build a relationship and become part of the foster family’s community long-term.
If you are interested in exploring what it would mean to be a respite family, please consider attending our free monthly virtual informational meetings – you can sign up here: https://www.hopespromise.com/events/ or email Tami Davidson at tami@hopespromise.com to set up an individual time to meet with her and learn more.
2020
I Am Happy
My father died when I was almost four years old, and my mom died when I was six. Sad, right? That is what I used to think. I even got angry sometimes and asked God why I had to be an orphan.
2020
Adoption in the Age of COVID-19
Walking into the hospital for my job in the last month has been a surreal experience. I imagined that it would be chaotic like the images on television. But instead everything was eerily quiet.
2019
Vietnam Connection Trip
I grew up during the Vietnam War. Certain graphic images and military words are etched into my memory: Mekong Delta, Ho Chi Minh, agent orange, napalm bomb, Viet Cong…and the image of a young American soldier sloshing through a muddy rice field in the relentless pouring rain.
2018
On Handling Adoptive Parent Guilt
It was only three weeks from the time we learned we’d been chosen by an expectant mother to the time our son entered the world. When we received the call that our son had arrived, we drove an hour to finally meet the little boy that would make us parents.
2018
Final Preparations: A Trip to Vietnam
I applied for the Hope’s Promise connection team trip to Vietnam in June, then I blinked, and here I am making final preparations. Emotions weigh heavy on me as I prepare to take an airplane to a country that is unfamiliar and uncharted territory for me.
2018
Vietnam Travel Diary
In the fall of 2014 Executive Director, Beth Woods visited Hope’s Promise homes in Vietnam for the first time. Moved, inspired and excited to go back again this fall, Beth shares some of her wonderful experiences with us.
2018
Daring Prayers for Adoptive Children
After many heartbreaking years of infertility, Leigh and Corrie adopted a healthy baby boy. They took him home from the hospital, and they all lived happily ever after.
But wait. There’s more. Because sometimes the happy endings we imagine just aren’t spectacular enough for God.
2018
Thriving Against All Odds
I didn’t recognize the young man I sat down beside. We smiled at each other, and I extended my hand and said, “Hi, I’m Diane, what’s your name?” He smiled and said, “Stanley!”
2018
Choosing Life
We have a very special and unique blog for you today. Adrian Collins is our amazing Hope’s Promise Adoption and Pregnancy Blog Editor and has been gracing us with her beautifully written words since 2017.